Polish 1st Armored Division

The Polish 1st Armored Division was an armored division of the Polish Armed Forces in the West that was active from 1942 to 1947 during World War II. The division was raised at Duns, Scotland by Stanislaw Maczek, and it numbered 16,000 soldiers at its peak. The 1st Armored Division served in the final phases of the Battle of Normandy in 1944, fighting as a part of the First Canadian Army. The division fought in Operation Totalize, Hill 262, and the Battle of Chambois in Normandy, and it liberated the towns of Saint-Omer, Ypres, Oostnieuwkerke, Roeselare, Tielt, Ruislede, and Ghent during the push into Belgium in September 1944. On 29 October 1944, the division captured Breda in the Netherlands without any civilian casualties. In early 1945, the division pushed with the Allies along the Dutch-German border and liberated the eastern parts of the provinces of Drenthe and Groningen, including the towns of Emmen, Coevorden, and Stadskanaal. In April 1945, the division entered Germany at Emsland, and it seized the naval base of Wilhelmshaven on 6 May, accepting the surrender of the fortress, naval base, the East Frisian Fleet, and 10 infantry divisions. The division ended the war there, serving on occupation duty until it was disbanded in 1947. The majority of its soldiers remained in exile rather than return to Stalinist Poland.